Mankind’s Hopeless Pursuit of Self-sublimation

Humanities desire to sublimate itself, is clearly seen in its insatiable pursuit for perfection. This is especially true in today’s Western culture; it is a culture that has become so evil and morally corrupt that it is out of control. Instead of looking to God, people look to themselves and their finite ideas of flawlessness. Today’s pursuance of goodness through the desire to be perfect is the same pursuit that writers, Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about in their works in-titled, Berenice and The Birthmark. These writers wrote during the Age of Dissent. The thought was that all mankind is corrupt and hopelessly depraved; yet they were obsessed with obtaining goodness through perfection. Mankind has always attempted to obtain and control that which it cannot have or have power over. During the Age of Dissent, mankind viewed people as objects, scientist yearned for the opportunity to experiment on humans and use any discovered knowledge to quench its mania for perfection. Today, this mania still exists, but now mankind has actually begun the horrifying human experimentation. Today’s society has a cacoethes for physical and moral perfection that is sought after through surgery, chemicals, and twisted religions-without an alternative answer, mankind will continue to destroy itself.

After reading Berenice and The Birthmark, I thought to myself, “These guys are twisted by their need for perfection.” But then I turned on the television and realized that this same unquenchable “need” is more twisted and sought after in today’s culture. In Poe’s, Berenice the main character, Egaeus becomes fixated on his cousins, Bernice’s “perfect” teeth and he must obtain them at all costs. This fixation becomes so controlling that by the end of the story; Egaeus has become so delusional that in a dissociative state, he kills Bernice by ripping out her teeth (Poe 151). In the beginning of both stories the victims of the obsessed are seen as people, whom are cared about then as the obsession for controlling and obtaining the good increases, they become objects to control and experiment on.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Birthmark one example of people being viewed as objects is evident when the main character, Alymer refers to his wife, Georgiana as a “case,” “Your case refers a remedy that shall go deeper” (Hawthorne 36). In The Birthmark, Hawthorne touches on the aspect of mans desire to have control over people in order to obtain goodness, wholeness, and perfection as if those in control could be like God; he writes, “…until the philosopher should lay his hand on the secret of creative force and perhaps make new worlds for himself. We know not whether Alymer possessed this degree of faith in man’s ultimate control over Nature” (Hawthorne 27). Both elements of becoming fixated on obtaining goodness and the desire to control and make man good and perfect are seen in today’s culture.

The desire for perfection in today’s world is an all-encompassing need to control every area of a person’s life. Richard Winter in his book, Perfecting Ourselves to Death writes, “All-around perfectionists are concerned with high standards of excellence in every area of life. Performance, appearance and morality are all extremely important. Their motto might be ‘I am perfectly in control, therefore I am’” (40). Although the pursuit for all-around perfectionism is true, one of the major and most grotesque means of obtaining perfection is sought after through physical perfection. People actually believe that by becoming physically faultless, they will obtain perfection in all areas of life. Mankind has begun to execute horrific scientific and surgical procedures in its attempt to obtain and control goodness through perfection.

The Western culture in particular is infatuated with physical perfection and science has taken the gauntlet created by it and run amuck with methodical research and human experimentation. Scientists have not stopped and considered the horrible effects its experimentations have caused or the unknown affects that it is going to cause. Not only do people now mutilate their bodies with cosmetic surgical procedures, they are also turning to pharmacology and genetic technology to make them “feel” good, slow the aging process, and to create children that have the potentiality for perfection before they are even conceived. Winter writes:
Not only can we get rid of wrinkles and affect brain transmitters with chemicals to get rid of anxiety, depression or aggression, but all sorts of things,… become possible with genetic engineering, stem cell research and cloning. Genetic engineering promises to produce ‘stronger babies, sharper memories, greater intelligence, and happier moods.’ (19-20)
Mankind is attempting to become the creator of life.

The media is no less innocent in the part that it has played in this abominable way of thinking and obtaining perfection. Street-signs, magazines, television, radio… (The list could go on) are all saturated with the pressure of how men and women can and should look. Not only do both visual models and role models set the standard for what beauty is, there is also pressure to partake in the rituals of self-mutilation. This pressure is seen and promoted in television shows such as, The Oprah Winfrey Show and Extreme Makeover. Oprah Winfrey is the epitome of where such extreme thinking on self-perfection and self-actualization can take a person. She promotes a religion, which boasts claims that a person can will him or herself and their life into perfection. Unfortunately, she is considered one of the most “influential” people in the world.

The push towards taking control and obtaining perfection in a person’s life has led society into an abyss. The abyss of attempting to gain that which it cannot, perfection. Today’s generation echoes the same claims of success that Hawthorne asserted over a century ago, “’Nay, richest, happiest, most favored!’ exclaimed he, ‘My peerless bride, it is successful! You are perfect’” (42)! But in reality these claim should not be celebrated with “’so high and pure a feeling’” the culture has, “’rejected the best the earth could offer’” and it is dying because of it (42)!

These deaths are not just physical, but they are also a spiritual and moral death. The further down the path of self-perfection people travel; the more separated they become from the truth and answer that is available:
Despite our great advances in almost every field, it seems as if the human heart has not changed much (If at all). The utopian dreams of a peaceful and prosperous earth are far from reality. The achievements of technology raise our hopes and aspirations, stimulate our desires and longing for perfection, but they often leave us frustrated and disappointed… (Emphasis added, Winter 22)
Despite all of these advancements and enhancements in human perfection as well as the arrogant claim that perfection is “in-fact” within humanities grasp, everyone still feels dejected and unfulfilled.

The philosophy in both of these books has had a profound effect on my view of the people, the media, and the world. While reading the stories, the notion that perfection can only be obtained in death arose as part of my interpretation. This is true for the believer, but unfortunately for the un-believers that die and are separated from their bodies the opposite is true. Their agony only increases as they become aware of the truth that all mankind is uncontrollably depraved apart from Christ and that they are now and forever cut off from the One that could have made them perfect. With the realization of this mania for perfection; an alternative answer must be given.

My major is Compassion Ministries and I hope to continue my education in the field of psychology or Social Work. After reading and researching the stories and philosophies of, Berenice and The Birthmark, I have a better understanding on the issues surrounding self-perfectionism. Now when I look at the secular world, I see not only a depraved and hopeless people that can only be saved through Christ, but I also see victims. This culture is the victim of duplicitous pinstripe bosses, who through the media promote a kind and caring face but in reality are heartless and money driven, who care only for themselves and the bottom line. The sight of a reconstructed now plastic person use to stupefy me, now the sight and knowledge of such people encourages me to love, accept, and share with them, the truth.

As I learn to better understand humanities desire for perfection, I am reminded of the fact that it is directly related to the fall of man. As I serve and encourage others, I will attempt to bring them to the realization that people cannot and never will be perfect until reunited with Christ. The hope is that people will begin to find their worth in Christ and who he says they are. And that there is nothing that this world can offer mankind in the way of obtaining goodness or perfection. Only in Christ and the truth of his word can a person find contentment. David realized this and wrote, “I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad. O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:96-99 NASB). Only in Christ and His word can a person become perfect.

Works Cited
Poe, Allen Edger. “Berenice” Edgar Allen Poe: Complete Works and Poems. Comp. Edward H. O’Neill. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1992. 145-151.

Nathaniel, Hawthorne. “The Birthmark.” The Oxford Book of Short Stories. Comp. V.S.
Pritchett. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. 27-42.

Winter, Richard. Perfecting Ourselves to Death: The Pursuit of Excellence and the Perils of
Perfectionism. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.